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Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Victory for the Mind & Body, Part Two | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus the Healer Broadcast
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Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message. Well, again, we're talking about God did something with our spirits at the new birth. He gave us a new spirit. But again, we're instructed in Romans 12 that we have to do something with our bodies and our minds. Amen. So. So let's go and let's look at something that Paul said in First Corinthians, chapter 9, verse 27. First Corinthians, chapter 9, verse27. Paul, who was this wonderfully anointed apostle of God who wrote half of the New Testament. And notice what he said. He said, I keep under my body. Notice this, this apostle, this man who walked with God, who had these divine experiences with God. Notice this. His body still wanted to do wrong. Just because you get born again doesn't mean your body's going to start behaving itself. You have to make your body behave itself. And he said, I keep under my body. What's the I, my spirit. Your spirit is the real you. Your body is not the real you. You are a spirit. You possess a soul, a mind which is made up of your mind, your will and emotions, and you live in a body. But the body is not the real you. The spirit is the real you. And Paul said, I, the real me, My spirit, my spirit. I, my spirit keeps under my body. Meaning this. I let my spirit dominate me. My body's not going to dominate me. If your body starts dominating you, it will take your life to ruin. But Paul said, I keep under my body. I bring it, my body, into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. What's he mean? I might be able to tell somebody else how to succeed, but I still got to keep my body under. Because just because I preach it doesn't mean my body is automatically kept under. I have to keep under my body. And he said, lest I should be a castaway. One translation says, set aside as unusable. Meaning this. If we don't do the right things with our body, God can't use us the way he wants us, the way he wants to. He wants to use us all. But if we're letting our bodies dominate us, our bodies participating in wrong things, going wrong places, God can't use us the way he wants to. Why? He uses vessels that are presented to Him. You can't present yourself to sin and then say, God, use me. We're to present ourselves to God. Let's go back and let's read Romans 12. How about that? Paul said Romans 12, verse 1. I beseech you. Therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. See, the mercy of God will help you. This isn't by willpower. This is by his mercy, by the mercies of God that you present your body. God's not going to do something with your body. You have to do something with your body. You have to tell it. No more. No more are you going to yield to what you used to yield to. No more are you going to participate in what you used to participate in. You. You have to do something with your body. You present your body. A living sacrifice. Holy. Holy. If it's not holy, you got no business doing it. Acceptable unto God. If God wouldn't accept it, don't you accept it? Which is your reasonable service or your spiritual worship? Notice this. What we do with our bodies is a form of worship. Yes. What we let our bodies participate in. Where we take our bodies, what we. What we join our bodies to. It's a form of worship. Amen. Now look at this. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed. Notice, we're either conformed or transformed. Every human is either conformed or transformed. But don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Notice this. It doesn't say be transformed at the new birth. God didn't transform you at the new birth. He gave you new spirit. He took out the old dead spirit and put his own spirit, a living spirit, in you. But that's not what transforms you. What transforms you is what you do with your mind. And what you do with your mind determines what you'll allow your body to do. But be ye transformed. Look at this. By the renewing of your mind. Listen to this. He gave you a new spirit. Now you need a new mind. How do you get a new mind? We feed the Word into our mind. It gives us God's thoughts. To renew our mind means to take on God's way of thinking. When we got a new spirit, we got his spirit in us. To get a new mind, we take his mind and put it in us. How do you do that? Through the Word, meaning this. It's a process. At the new birth, you got a new spirit. In a moment, in a moment of time, new spirit. But that's not how new mind comes. A new mind comes over life long process of feeding on the Word and doing the Word. The renewing of the mind is not just being Able to read the Bible. It's not just being able to quote the Bible. It's not even beaten. It's not even just knowing what the right answers to life's problems are. The renewing of the mind is the doing of the Word. The doing of the Word. The mind is not renewed until it's living it. The mind is not renewed with the Word until it's doing the Word. It's not enough to confess it. Listen, it's right to confess it. Because the confessing helps us to know what our doing should look like. But just being able to confess it without the doing, your mind's still not renewed. Our minds are not renewed until we're living the Word in everyday life. Amen. So it says, be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Notice this. If we're going to have heaven on earth, we have to do something with our bodies and we have to do something with our minds. Amen. The Word of God is the thoughts of God. God, when he gave us His Word, gave us his way of thinking. To renew our minds with the Word is simply this. When we are thinking in a way that's different from the Word, we say, okay, I'm going to quit thinking the way I thought and I'm going to take on the thinking, the definitions of the Word. Amen. Hallelujah. When someone is renewing their minds, it starts showing up. It shows up. If it doesn't show up in your marriage, you're not doing it. If it doesn't show up in your body, you're not doing it. If it doesn't show up in the way you treat people, you're not doing it. Because when your mind is being renewed, it starts transforming. It starts showing up. Amen. We love the body of Christ, but I want you to know this. The best fellowship are those who are renewing their minds, not those who are simply saved, those who are renewing their minds. Because if we do not renew our minds with the Word of God, our lives will look like the unsaved neighbor. It's the renewed mind that brings your life into the life God authored for you, to where you're living it out in everyday life. Amen. God wants submitted bodies. Our bodies submitted to righteousness, our bodies submitted to him. Our bodies under the dominion of our own spirits. He's telling us in Romans 12:1 what to do with our bodies. Keep it under. Keep it under. Then he wants submitted bodies, but he wants to transformed minds. Now, can I tell you why? Paul said, I beseech you with all earnestness. He's saying, I beseech you, do something with your mind and body. God did something with your spirit. But you are the one who has to do something with your mind and body. If you don't, your life will look like ruin. Why does he beseech us to do something with our mind and body? Because when we do, that's our greatest defense against the devil. The greatest. Now hear this. If you don't hear anything else. Your greatest defense against the devil is a submitted body and a renewed mind. If you will renew your mind with the word, the devil can't get in. If you will not present your body to wrong things, the devil can't get in. You understand? The devil attacks us all. But he doesn't have to get in just because he attacked. He doesn't have to get in just because he opposed. We cannot keep him from opposing us. It is our job to keep him from getting in. How do we keep him from getting in? Yield our bodies to righteousness. Do not participate in that which God is not pleased with and is not in line with the Word. And then do the right thing with our minds to take on God's thoughts. Quit thinking the way we used to think. Your life before you were born again, your family, your surroundings taught you a certain way of thinking. Even your own personality and your own bend will cause you to think a certain way. If it's not in line with the word, we have to change it. You know what that means? That means your personality is not lord over you. Well, that's just the way I am. We'll change the way you am. Your personality is to color your life, but not lead your life. And so, so many people let their personalities. Well, I'm just a hothead. Change that. Well, I'm just. I just say what I think. Change that. Well, bless God. I've just. I've just learned to control and manipulate to get my way. You better change that. Because what you allowed in your personality, if it's in opposition to the word, it'll ruin your life. It'll ruin your marriage. It'll ruin your home. It will. It will mess up your kids to where they grow up crooked. They don't grow up straight and healthy. They grow up bent in all different wrong directions because they've been manipulated and controlled and taught manipulation and taught control. If it's not in line with the word, you better change it. If you don't, it's the entrance place for the devil. Any pla. When where the devil has gained entrance into your life. Now you know what needs be to. To be renewed. Amen. The devil's trying to attack us, to ruin us. And really it helps us spotlight where we need to address. We cannot stop the devil from opposing. But a renewed body and a submitted, excuse me, A renewed mind and a submitted body will keep the devil out every time, Every time, every time. That's why Paul said, I beseech you, do something with your mind and body because then you won't have to be running around saying, oh God, do this, or Pastor, pray for me or now listen, we want to pray for people, but I want you to know if we'll do this, we won't need to be running around in a crisis having to get people to bail us out of our problem. Why? Because problems won't get. Amen. The best life is the one the renewed mind gives you. The most peaceful life is the life that a renewed mind gives you. I remember we were watching a minister years ago, my husband and I, he was on television being interviewed and the interviewer said to this, to this minister, he was a well known minister and said to him, have you, how's your marriage? You know, how have your wife and you done? Have you had to work much on your marriage? And he said, oh yeah, we've had to work on our marriage through the years. And I turned to Ed and I said, we've never had to work on our marriage. He said, no. I said, I don't remember a time. We said we need to work on this marriage. What I did every day worked on my mind. I worked on my mind. I worked on renewing my mind, bringing my thoughts into line with the word of God. That's an everyday for the rest of your life job. You never reach the point where your mind. Alright, that's done. I'm renewed. No. The Bible says we are renewed day by day for the rest of our life. It is our job to keep renewing our minds. Why? Because the mind you renewed yesterday, you woke up this morning. Why? How come it's way over there on the other side of the room now? How come it's out of place? I went to bed and it was great. Woke up this morning with a whole different way of thinking. Trying to, right? Nope. Get back in place. I love something dad Hagin said to us. The mind doesn't stay renewed any more than the hair stays combed. So just like every morning you get up and put your hair in place every day you had to put your mind back in place. Keep it in place. Why? Because the mind wants to go back to the natural. Why? Because it's of the earth. It just wants to go back. The body wants to go back to the natural and do wrong. Every day you have to stand and say, no, you don't. No, you don't. No, you don't. And let me tell you this. The more you do that rightly, the easier it gets. But if you're going to spend three months over in unrighteousness, two months over in righteousness, four months over saying whatever you want to whoever you want, just, you know, and then go, I don't know why I don't have peace. I know. Ask me. You can't choose the flesh one day and choose the spirit the next day and think that everything's going to stay in place. Amen. Every day. Stay on top of your mind, stay on top of your body and quit just letting it do it. Because it's always done. It's. Well, that's just the way I think. Change the way you think. That means if we're renewing our minds, it will be heaven on earth living with you in the home. Really? Yeah. It's possible. I said it's possible. Many think the devil's their problem when their problem is an unrenewed mind. Can I tell you this? Depression is an unrenewed mind. Don't misunderstand me. The feelings of depression, the symptoms of depression are very real, but they're very. You are totally delivered from them as you renew your mind. You see that? Amen. Today we're having things like panic attacks. You know, you hear about these terminologies around fear and anxiety and panic attacks. None of that. All of that is nothing but the spirit of fear. That's all it is. Heart palpitations, I can't get my breath. And anxiety, anxiety. I'm not making fun of it and I'm not making light of it. It's very real. But I want you to know, that's all. The spirit of fear and the spirit of fear can only work on the unrenewed mind. That's why you want to get to church as much as you can. Because the Word is the cure for the unrenewed mind. And take advantage of every opportunity to be in church to get your mind renewed. Because the only way to react, renew the mind is get the Word in your thinking. Taking on the Word, the thoughts of the Word, taking on God's thoughts, and then refusing to walk out of that service and do what you used to do. It's not enough to show up in church and say, I'm going to succeed. No, you don't. Not if you don't do your homework. A student doesn't make a passing grade because they showed up in class. Class. A student makes a passing grade because they did their homework of studying. They did what they were supposed to do outside the classroom. They read, they studied, they memorized, they put the time in. It's the same thing with the renewed mind. You don't succeed in the Christian life just because you show up at church. You succeed because you do the right thing with your mind as homework, because you do the right thing with your body as homework. And everybody can tell. Remember in school and the teacher would say, pass your homework to the front. If you didn't do your homework, you got nothing to pass to the front. And the students know you didn't pass no homework. When we don't do our homework with our mind and our body, people will know. It will show up. It will show up in the way we talk to people, how we treat people, and what happens in our marriage, what happens in our finances, and what happens in our bodies, what happens with our children. It will show up whether or not we're doing the right thing with our minds and our bodies. Amen. Now, Paul said, renew the mind. Let me. Let me read. You go with me to James, chapter one, verse 21. James, chapter one, verse 21 dot And I'm going to read out of the amplified translation. James 1:21. The amplified translation says this. So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness. He's saying get rid of it. How do I get rid of it? Stop. How do I stop? Quit yielding. You quit yielding. Now. See, if we couldn't stop it, he wouldn't tell us to stop it. God would be unrighteous to tell us to stop something we couldn't stop. If he's telling us to stop something, it's because we can. So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness. And in a humble, gentle, modest spirit, receive and welcome. The word which, implanted and rooted in your hearts, contains the power to save your souls. Oh, what's he mean by that? James is writing to Christians, and you know what he's saying to them? Your soul's not saved. He's not talking about their spirit, he's talking about their soul. Their mind isn't renewed. That's what he's saying. He's saying that. He's calling it your soul. Is not saved. Satan. Same thing. When Paul said renew the mind. Amen. How come people are participating? I'm talking about Christians now. The world participates in it because they can't help it. They got a dead spirit. They don't have the life of God in them. They don't have ability to say no. But Christians, we do. So in Psalm 23, David said this. He said, he restoreth my soul. How does God restore our souls? Same thing as this. He renews our mind. How does he renew our minds? As we feed on the word. As we put the word in our thoughts, put it in our mouths, put it in our actions, then he restores our souls. Amen. And then in John 3, John, verses 1, excuse me, chapter 1 and verse 2 says this, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as or to the degree that your soul prospers. So he calls the renewing of the mind the prospering of the soul. So look at it. James calls it the saving of the soul. Paul calls it the renewing of the mind. David calls it the restoring of the soul. John calls it the soul prospering. So notice this. They're all saying the same thing. But we're the ones that have to do something with our minds. Amen. We have to take charge of our mind. My mother is one who, she loves restoring antique pieces of furniture. When she buys an antique piece of furniture and it needs restoration, she would clean off the kitchen table. We had a big kitchen table, and she would put that, usually a smaller piece of furniture, and she'd lay down all the newspapers over the table, she'd pull out all the equipment, all the materials she needed to restore it. And for the next several days, I mean, that's all she did, every available moment. She was working on stripping off old paint, sanding down the furniture, doing whatever she did. Why? Because she knew this. The quicker she got the restoration done, the quicker she could enjoy it. If she would have just spent five minutes a day restoring it, that piece of furniture would have sat on our kitchen counter for months and months and months. But she didn't. She gave an all out effort putting all her time, all of her available moments into restoring that. Because then she could start enjoying. Why do so few Christians really enjoy the fullness of what's been provided? Because they have not put in the time to renew the mind, restore the soul. Amen. And they just do a little bit here. A few moments this week, a few moments next week. Well, that's good. But it's going to take a long time when you give very little effort and time to it. Amen. Go with me, if you would, to Joshua, chapter one. Joshua, chapter one. God was speaking to Joshua at the time of Moses departure. And he was telling him how he, what he's going to have to do to succeed as the leader of God's people. And he said this. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth. That means always keep, always, always keep the word in your mouth. And he's not talking about 24 hours a day. And he's not talking about every conversation has to be a scripture. He's saying, let it be a habit that the Word is in your speech, but thou shalt meditate therein. Look at the next phrase, day and night, night. Notice this. He's not saying you doing this 24 hours. He's saying it has to become a lifestyle, that you don't just do it on Sunday. You don't just do it at church. You don't just do it when you're around a minister. This is a lifestyle for you, that you're thinking of the Word. Put your thoughts on the Word instead of on depression. Put your thoughts on the Word instead of on fear. Thou shalt meditate in the Word day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that's written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Notice your success is not because the devil leaves you alone. Your success is because of what you do with the Word in your mind and in your daily life. Amen. Hallelujah. Every day. Every day. Every day we meditate. To meditate means to speak it. Just speak it to yourself. Roll it around on the inside of you. Think about it. Speak about it often. Amen. Hallelujah. Well, I want to do this for those that are watching, for those of you that are here, but also for those that are watching. Sometimes people need, if I could say this, an extra help. They've been entrenched in the wrong way of thinking, the wrong way of doing for so long that God has power that will help bring them back to, if I could say this, to level ground. Amen. So we want to release our faith. If you're here this morning and you say, pastor, I've been dealing with depression, oppression, fear, I tell you what, God's power will go in and break that off of you. But after we pray for you, you got to do the right thing with your mind, and you have to do the right thing with your body. Amen. So those of you, let's just everybody release our faith, the direction of those that are in need of help this morning. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that greater is he that's in us than he that's in the world. And for those that are dealing with fear, depression, oppression, I say be free in Jesus name, Satan, you take your hands off their minds, you take your hands off their bodies, you take your hands off their life and you be free. In Jesus name right now. In Jesus name. And let's just lift up our hands and worship him. Father, we thank you. Thank you that we're free. Thank you for the word that makes us free. We thank you, Father. We give you glory. We give you honor. Honor. We give you thanks. We worship you, Father. We worship you, Father. We worship you, Father. Hallelujah. How many of you know freedom from these things that trouble us is so available to us. But I want you to know it's not what you do in church, it's what you do every day that determines the outcome. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Well all your health this morning. Morning. We trust you've enjoyed this message. Visit us at defrainministries. Org to learn of our upcoming meetings, share your testimony, become a partner or visit our online store. This program has been made possible by the friends and partners of defrain ministries.